Fort Lee calls meeting to detail school safety steps

FORT LEE — In the weeks following the deadly shooting of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Fort Lee borough and school officials say they have increased security in and around campuses. The added measures have not always been evident, however.

To give community members a better sense of what's being done, officials from Borough Hall and the school district have called a joint town hall meeting for Wednesday. They and the police will provide an overview of current safety measures and initiatives to be implemented and will solicit public input.

"I'm a parent myself," Mayor Mark Sokolich said. "The most important mission we have as a government and the school board is the safety of our children and the peace of mind of our parents."

"I want my parents to know that those programs are out there," he added. "They need to know how their tax dollars are being spent."

School board President Yusang Park called school safety a matter that should concern all citizens.

"School safety is community safety," Park said. "You really can't separate the two. Everybody has a responsibility and obligation to look out for our children. And not only for our children, but our citizens."

Since Newtown, Fort Lee police officers have conducted more perimeter checks around campuses, and a second school resource officer has been added. Plans are under way to install cameras, provide crime-prevention training to school staff members and schedule school assemblies for the students, according to those involved in the efforts.

The Police Department will retrain all borough employees on what to look for and how to be alert, Lt. Patrick Kissane said.

A former school resource officer at Fort Lee High, Kissane is co-founder and president of the New Jersey Association of School Resource Officers and serves on the Governor's School Security Task Force and national associations focused on school safety.

Weighing in on the national debate about whether schools should equip guards or other employees with weapons, Kissane said armed guards are not the solution. Rather, he said, there should be more school resource officers — cops who are trained to interact with youths, give class presentations and advise students of their rights.

Though much of the focus on school violence post-Newtown has centered on weapons, Kissane said there are other areas of concern — from bullying to suicides — and he encouraged all adults to communicate with their kids and to recognize cries for help.

"You need to change the culture," Kissane said. "You need buy-in from all the stakeholders and you need them … all to care about themselves, the schools. Hear something, say something. Recognize that bad things can happen, so take people's threats for real. Let someone know if someone's desperate, suicidal. Engage your students. Talk to them. Know them by name."

"We used to say it takes a village to raise a child," he added. "Now I say it takes a village to keep a child safe."